Jun 10, 2026 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

In Chartiers-Houston softball’s run to the state championship game, a source of inspiration for the underclassmen on the team was extending the careers of seniors Lauren Rush and Seanna Riggle.

Rush and Riggle, who are both four-year starters, have experienced two doses of heartbreak in the state semifinal round.

They were part of teams that lost to Carmichaels and Neshannock, but in their final year they helped the Bucs get over the hump.

And they’ll get the moment they’ve been dreaming of since they were young freshman starters.

They’ll play for a state championship.

The Bucs face Laurel in the PIAA Class 2A championship, 11 a.m. Friday, at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Softball Park.

It’ll be the first all-WPIAL softball final in history.

“It feels amazing, especially with it being our senior year,” Rush said. “It’s really all you could ask for. We’ve been in the WPIAL finals, but to make it to states is a whole different level. We’ve done everything we could to get past (the semifinals), because when you lose (in the semifinals) more than one time, it’s just like ‘ugh’. We got there finally and we’re so excited.”

Rush had a single and a run scored in Chartiers-Houston’s 3-2 semifinal win over Bristol. Riggle made a nice catch on a liner at second base, which helped keep a run off the board.

Rush hits second in the lineup, while Riggle is the cleanup hitter.

They occupy the middle of the infield for the Bucs and have done so for most of their high school careers. Outside of a few games where Riggle played first base in her freshman and sophomore years, she’s been the second baseman. Rush has been the shortstop since she was in ninth grade.

But Riggle and Rush’s friendship started well before they played high school softball. The two have been close since their days in elementary school.

“We’ve known each other since we were very little,” Riggle said. “We used to get called sisters by people all the time (because they both have blonde hair). Twins actually sometimes.”

Being veterans of the middle infield, they have strong communication and have welcomed the task of being leaders of a fairly young team around them.

Bucs coach Tricia Alderson praised both as excellent examples on and off the field and is excited to see them rewarded for it.

“I’m just so happy for them,” Alderson said. “They know when their last game is going to be. That can be hard when you’re going and going and all of the sudden it stops. It can be really difficult. It’s great that they got over the hump. The last two years we lost in the semifinals and their freshman year we lost in the quarterfinals. They have a ton of playoff experience under their belts in both the WPIAL and states and they’ve done a great job being leaders for us this year.”

Chartiers-Houston is headed to a state championship game for the first time since 2010, a 7-4 victory over Montgomery. That was the last year state championships were at Shippensburg University, so this will be the first trip to Penn State for the Bucs.

Rush and Riggle are well versed in the rich history of Chartiers-Houston softball, so to be part of the team that got back to a state championship game is meaningful.

“Our softball program has a history that’s really unbelievable and we’re playing for more than just ourselves,” Rush said. “We know the whole community watches us and former players come back to watch us. We’re kind of expected to make it this far, so there’s some pressure with that, but we haven’t been to a state championship in 16 years. It’s kind of crazy that this is the group, but I knew we could do it.”

Aside from softball, Rush and Riggle also played together on the Bucs’ girls soccer team. Both will continue their softball careers in college. Rush is headed to Baldwin-Wallace to study engineering. Riggle will attend Washington & Jefferson and will pursue a degree in nursing.

But before they head to college, they’ll close their strong high school careers with one last game together.

“From the beginning of the year our coach (Alderson) told us our team was destined for something special and now here we are,” Rush said.